Scintillating chess in the PAL-CSS Freestyle tournament

6/15/2005 – This unusual event, in which players may use computer assistance during the games, is turning into a milestone experiment. After the main event and the quarter-finals (and with four players left) we can draw first tentative conclusions. One is that the most powerful chess playing entity on the planet is a GM armed with a computer.

The ladies battle it out in Moldova

6/15/2005 – The European Individual Women's Championship 2005 is under way in Chisinau, Moldova. 164 of the strongest female players from this part of the world are gathered together to crown a champion and to nominate twelve participants for the women's world championship. We bring you games, results and lots of beautiful pictures.

Give up the sissy version – play Chinese chess!

6/15/2005 – David H. Li is not too fond of chess – at least not the strange variety we play. The retired professor from Washington DC calls it Queen-Qi or the "Queen’s Game“. A much faster and more exciting version predates Western chess. It originated in ancient China and is called XiangQi, the Elephant Game.

Timman in great form – in the sea and out

6/14/2005 – Veteran Dutch GM Jan Timman is having a great time on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. Besides making friends with local dolphins, he had a great start in his match against Cuban talent Lazaro Bruzon. Timman won the Rapid part of the match with a 3.5:0.5 score.

Super-GM in Paks – it pays to know the rules

6/13/2005 – Our heart bleeds for Krishnan Sasikiran, India's second-highest ranked player. In his game against Emil Sutovsky, at the 3rd Marx György tournament in Paks, Hungary, he did not know that he could claim a draw in a totally drawn endgame. Instead Sasi lost on time on move 100. Report and games.

Anand bags his fifth León title

6/13/2005 – Former FIDE world champion Vishy Anand defeated the current FIDE champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov in the finals of the traditional Ciudad de León rapid chess event with an exciting 2½:1½ victory. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, since Kasimdzhanov threw a spanner in the works with a first-game win. Full illustrated report.

Svetozar Gligoric and the Botvinnik Plan

6/12/2005 – In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos talks about the Yugoslav Grandmaster, many-time world championship candidate, theoretician and all-around good guy, who was a very important figure in world chess from the early 1950s through the 1980s. Come, listen and learn.

Hydra misses the quarter-finals of Freestyle tournament

6/11/2005 – It was the shocker of the event: the massive Hydra machines, running on 16 and 32 processors and special FPGA chess hardware were both knocked out in the main section of the Freestyle chess tournament. On the other hand a dark horse named ZackS qualified with consummate ease. Today there will be tie-breaks, tomorrow the quarter-finals. Come and watch...

Kasimdzhanov and Anand win 3:1, 3:1

6/11/2005 – FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov made his mark at the traditional Ciudad de León rapid chess event by winning both his black games and knocking out Alexei Shirov with a 3:1 score. Former FIDE champ Vishy Anand defeated Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen by the same score. The final is on Sunday.

Fire on Board Trophy – you can win an invitation!

6/10/2005 – On June 25-26 two of the most aggressive players of our time, Alexei Shirov and Viktor Kortchnoi, will cross swords in four 90-minute games in Eschweiler, Germany. You can buy special attendance packages for €450 – or you can win them (including travel expenses) in this weekend's special Playchess Warm-up Blitz.

Live from Curaçao – Timman vs Bruzon

6/9/2005 – In 1962 a great Candidates tournament was held on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. It was won by Petrosian, ahead of Geller, Keres, Fischer and Korchnoi. Now, 43 years later, Dutch GM Jan Timman has written a book about it. As part of a promotional he will play a match against Cuban champion Lazaro Bruzon from June 11-17. You can watch it on Playchess.com.

A chess holiday in Thailand

6/9/2005 – From the dark and sometimes cramped conditions of Europe to a five-star resort on the East Coast of Thailand, – chess buffs took the opportunity live it up and do what they love to do: win a game or a tournament. This year the Bangkok Chess club is holding its 5th annual competition at the Regent Beach Resort Cha-am. Illustrated report.

Kasparov and kids take Manhattan

6/9/2005 – The best junior players in the United States came together in New York last weekend for a master class with Garry Kasparov. He went over their games, gave out plenty of advice, and surprised at least a few of the kids and parents by not living up to his "Ogre of Baku" reputation. We sat in and bring you a great pictorial report.

The Nunn Plan for the World Chess Championship

6/8/2005 – Chess is a game that is currently booming – but this trend has not been reflected in top-level chess due to organisational problems. Attempts are being made by FIDE to reorganise the World Championship, but are they getting it right? Not quite, thinks Dr John Nunn, and presents a comprehensive plan of his own.

A chess adventure in Colombia

6/8/2005 – Sergey Tiviakov went, saw and conquered. The Dutch GM took the Magistral Huila 100 Años in Neiva, Colombia with 8/9 and a performance of 2823. But Sergey is also a bit of an adventurer with an avid interest in exotic countries and mysterious phenomenon. He sent us this extraordinary pictorial report.

Neither war nor confrontation

6/7/2005 – There is hardly a person in the world who knows FIDE's plans for world chess better than deputy president Georgios Makropoulos. In fact he has developed many of them himself. Recently "Makro" spoke about them to Russian news magazine Sport Express, touching on many subjects that are of great interest to chess fans all over the world. We bring you excerpts.

Anand vs Grischuk at the Unzicker Gala in Mainz

6/7/2005 – The 2005 Chess Classic in Mainz will honour 80-year-old German grandmaster Wolfgang Unzicker. The gala event includes Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi. You can also catch Vishy Anand and Alexander Grischuk in a rapid match, plus a Chess960 special. Interview with organiser H.-W. Schmitt.

Esben Lund vs two minor pieces

6/7/2005 – In their Glasgow 3rd Floor Wednesday night Radio ChessBase lecture IM Jacob Aagaard and IM John Shaw will talk to FM Esben Lund about his recent publication Rook vs. Two Minor Pieces. This will include a clear explanation of what "the domination of the missing bishop" actually means.

Alexandra Kosteniuk takes Frascati

6/7/2005 – Remember when simultaneous masters were portly, balding and heavily bespectacled? That has changed. The grandmaster taking on twenty correspondence chess players in Frascati, Italy, arrived in a purple blouse and stylishly patched jeans. And she beat them 17.5 to 2.5. Illustrated report.

Monokroussos on all-time favourite Paul Keres

6/6/2005 – The Estonian GM, who died exactly 30 years ago, never became world champion. But he was very close for the longest period – a top-five player for almost thirty years. In our Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos examines a 1959 Keres victory over Mikhail Tal.

Leko vs Adams drawn 4-4

6/6/2005 – It began with high drama, with local hero Peter Leko hitting the canvas in horrible fashion. However, unfazed by the 3-0 lead taken by Michael Adams, Leko came back with a vengeance, winning three in a row himself. On Sunday the match in Miskolc ended in a 4:4 draw.

The people behind Accoona Chess

6/6/2005 – On June 21st Rustam Kasimdzhanov will play against a computer. There are still a bunch of free tickets available for the gala event, staged by the Accoona, in the ABC Times Square Studios in New York. But why is a search engine company involved in chess, we hear you ask. The answer is Armand Rousso.

Leko equalises match against Adams

6/5/2005 – After his shock 0-2 start Peter Leko lost game three as well. But just when it looked like he was heading for the biggest disaster of his career the Hungarian chess hero turned the tide and won the next three games in succession. The score is now 3:3 with no draws, tomorrow is the super-exciting "penalty shoot-out". Here's a big illustrated report.

Guess who is New In Chess

6/4/2005 – He might be gone from the chessboard but it's clear he's not leaving chess. Starting this month Garry Kasparov will have his own column in each issue of the illustrious magazine New In Chess. We caught up with the retired world #1 at his meeting with NIC publisher Allard Hoogland in New York City. What can we expect from Kasparov the columnist?